Inter Milan did all they could to keep the pressure up on Serie A leaders AC Milan as they beat lowly Cesena 2-1. But they left it very late.
Inter Milan capitalized on AC Milan's slip-up to move within two points of their city rivals after a controversial 1-0 win at home to lowly Lecce on Sunday.
It's become fashionable to see friendly internationals as pointless. In a literal sense, they are, of course: neither money nor trophies are at stake, and the very idea of professional players risking their health for no tangible benefits (apart from the profits made by the federations and TV stations) is anathema to club supporters and managers.
Inter Milan moved into third place in Italy's Serie A after inflicting yet more misery on bottom-placed Bari with a 3-0 win.
Inter Milan kept their Serie A title hopes alive as striker Giampaolo Pazzini scored twice on his debut to help them recover from a two-goal deficit to beat Palermo 3-2 at the San Siro.
AC Milan missed the chance to open up a six-point gap at the top of Serie A on Saturday after being held to a 1-1 draw at mid-table Sampdoria.
The pressure on Inter boss Rafa Benitez intensified on Sunday as his team crashed to a 2-1 defeat to Chievo in Serie A.
Giampaolo Pazzini scored both goals as Sampdoria beat AS Roma 2-1 on Sunday to dent the capital side's Serie A title hopes.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice on his return from a ban as Real Madrid cut the gap on Spanish leaders Barcelona to two points with a 3-0 victory at bottom club Xerez on Saturday night.
Juventus moved within a point of Serie A leaders Inter Milan as they hammered Sampdoria 5-1 on Wednesday night to leapfrog their opponents into second place in Italy.
Sampdoria lost ground on Inter Milan at the top of Serie A on Sunday when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Lazio in a game where both teams finished with 10 men.
Giampaolo Pazzini scored the only goal as Sampdoria beat champions Inter Milan to leapfrog them at the top of Serie A on Saturday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the only goal of the game as Inter Milan beat Sampdoria 1-0 in their Italian Cup semifinal second leg at the San Siro, but it was not enough to prevent the visitors reaching the final 3-1 on aggregate.
Robbie Keane kept the Republic of Ireland's dream of automatic qualification for the World Cup finals alive with a last-gasp equaliser to hold 10-man defending champions Italy to a 1-1 draw in Bari.
World champions Italy opened a two-point gap in World Cup qualifying Group Eight ahead of Wednesday's home clash against nearest challengers Republic of Ireland in Bari.
Barcelona have reached their first Spanish Cup final for 11 years after a 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca earned a 3-1 aggregate victory and a showdown against Atheltic Bilbao in Valencia on May 13.
Lazio will take a slender one-goal advantage into the second leg of the Italian Cup semifinals after a 2-1 home victory over Juventus.
The January transfer window is the mid-season bazaar that provides Europe's football teams a chance to boost their squad for the second half of the season.
Jose Mourinho's reign at Inter Milan suffered another setback on Wednesday night as the defending Italian champions were held 0-0 away to Fiorentina.
Gallant Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Fiorentina in their semi-final second leg, after 240 minutes of football over two matches failed to produce a single goal.
Juventus blew the Serie A title race wide open with a shock 2-1 victory at leaders Inter Milan on Saturday night.
AS Roma kept their Serie A title hopes alive with a 2-0 home win over Reggina on Saturday.
Villarreal held Barcelona to a goalless draw on Thursday night in the first leg of their Spanish Cup quarterfinal.
Milan's barren home run in Serie A continued when they were held to a goalless draw by Torino at the San Siro.
Struggling European champions AC Milan have been beaten 1-0 at home by Empoli to slip 10 points behind city rivals Inter, who won 1-0 at Reggina on Saturday, in the Serie A title race.
Giampaolo Pazzini, who needed only 29 seconds to become the first player to score a goal at the new Wembley, grabbed a hat-trick in Italy's 3-3 draw with England in an entertaining under-21 international on Saturday.
Francesco Totti scored twice as Roma won 2-1 at AC Milan on Saturday to move within a point of joint leaders Inter Milan and Palermo.
Andriy Shevchenko struck twice in a 4-0 demolition of Udinese to keep AC Milan in second in Serie A.
Fiorentina and Juventus drew 2-2 in an Italian Cup quarterfinal which was suspended when tear gas engulfed the stadium.
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